With wide area situational awareness, power grid operators are overwhelmed by an increasing number of data signals and measurements at any given time. Some estimates for the maximum number of alarms, which could be triggered for different types of events, include up to 150 alarms for a transformer fault, up to 2000 alarms for a generation substation fault, up to 20 alarms per second during a thunderstorm, and up to 15,000 alarms for each regional center during the first 5 seconds of a complete system collapse.
Servicing these alarms brings the power grid back to a normal and secure state. While there are a variety of ways in which alarms might handled, it is not readily apparent which resolution plan for the alarms would lead to the resolution of the problem(s) (i.e., bringing the power grid back to a normal and secure state) most efficiently. Moreover, the sheer amount of alarms proves challenging for operators and analysis systems. Frequently, the volume of alarms is such that there is no convenient way to establish which alarm should be handled in which order, or why.